Manchester Passion

Three days now since 'resurrection day' and I suppose the world will put Easter to bed for another year. Even Woolworths had only a handful of eggs still for sale at £1.99 by lunchtime on Monday. Needless to say, I like a bargain!

My Easter highlight was watching the 'Manchester Passion', a fantastic production shown on BBC TV on Good Friday. As far as I know the people who put it together aren't Christians (maybe that's no bad thing!). It involved a modern version of a passion play, acted out in Manchester city centre live. To attempt to do something like that in modern-day Britain, on what is presumably a major drinking night in the calendar, was ambitious in the extreme.

Then to employ Keith Allen to be narrator and host (as well as Pilate) was inspired casting. Allen is seen as being one of the edgiest, most anarchic of performers and for the producers it must have been a bit like holding a hand grenade for an hour and hoping it didn't go off. Allen didn't. Go off, I mean. He did his job and did it well. There was never a sense of mockery or lampooning. There was a real discipline and faithfulness to the ageless Easter story.

It wasn't preachy. It didn't make me cringe. It was accessible and understandable. The accessibility was enhanced by an imaginative use of modern classic songs by Manchester bands such as The Smiths, New Order and Joy Division. Two stand-out moments for me were Jesus (portrayed superbly by Darren Moffitt) singing 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' during The Last Supper, and when he appeared hundreds of feet above the crowd singing The Stone Roses' 'I Am the Resurrection'. Literally a goosebump moment for me, even at the second time of watching.

So why, oh why, could some Christian groups and churches not resist having a pop at this event? Here were non-Christians taking over a city centre on a Friday night to tell the Jesus story. In a most brilliant and thought-provoking way. For me, there was no controversy, no heresy. Just an honest attempt to convey 1st century acts to 21st century people. Er, isn't that the church's job? Or am I just being too simplistic?

Answers on a postcard...